234 



" They seem to occur in great abundance in particular places, 

 " probably formnig mmiature forests at the bottom of the sea. 

 " They are not straight when fresh, but more or less bent, with 

 three gentle curvatures." 



lift)- four specimens were obtained on i\Iarch 28, 1900, of 

 w inch twelve were sent to me. 



There can be no doubt of the identity of this .species with that 

 obtained by the " Challenger " in the iVtlantic Ocean, S. of 

 Buenos Ayres, depth 600 fathoms ; and described by KolliUei- 

 as Anthoptilum thomsoni ; but it is difficult to distinguish tJie 

 species from Yerrill's \'irgularia grandiBora described m 1879. 



The largest unbroken* specimen had the following measure- 

 ments : — 



Cape Specimen. " Challenger." 



Length of Polypidom lojo mm. 560 mm. 



Length of stalK ibo mm. 87 mm. 



Breadth of stalk bulb 30 mm. 18 mm. 



Length of polyps 16 mm. I7'5 nun. 



Length of tentacles 6 mm. 6'8 mm. 



In the second column are given the measurements of the 

 largest specimen of the species obtained by the " Challenger." 



The other specimens sent from the Cape were a little smaller 

 than the one mentioned above, but 1 have not measured them 

 accurately, as there is no sufficient reason for supposing that they 

 l)elong to different species. The mam point of interest is that 

 the specimens found on the Eastern side of the Atlantic arc 

 larger than those obtained by the " Challenger " on the Western 

 side; but whether this is to be associated with the fact that the 

 ' Challenger " specimens were found in deeper water (Ouu 

 I'athonis, acfamst 135 fathoms) or that they were obtained in 20 

 degrees of latitude further South, or whether the difference in 

 size is simply a matter of geographical isolation, is a question 

 v.hich it is premature at present to discuss. It is noteworth}', 

 liowever, that notwithstanding the difference in si/e of the 

 polypidoms, the auto/.ooids and t/ie tentacles of the autozooids 

 of specimens from the Eastern and Western waters are approxi- 

 mately of the same size. Accurate measurements haAe not been 

 made, and, as it is impossil)le to pre\ent a certain amount of 

 shrinkage in the preservation, cannot be made ; but the differ 

 ence in the measurements of the autozooids and their tentacles 

 given b)' Kolliker and those of m\' specimens is so slight that it 

 is probable that when alive in their nati\e habitats tlie\' were 

 exactly the same. 



* Some ut the specimen? tli;it wei^e cut into twn m- tlnxH: iiicces lor tr;iii?il 

 were probably larger ttian tliis. 



